Paul Kendall, a name synonymous with innovative soundscapes in production and electronic music, began his journey not with formal training, but with an acute sensitivity to sound. His narrative, punctuated by groundbreaking technological shifts in music production, reveals a career deeply influenced by early sonic encounters, most notably, the iconic Doctor Who main theme. This theme, broadcast into homes just days after his ninth birthday, did more than just introduce a television show; it shattered young Kendall’s auditory preconceptions and set him on a path of sonic exploration.
Before the Tardis materialized on screen and in his consciousness, Kendall’s musical forays were modest. Childhood attempts with the descant recorder and piano were curtailed by the realities of apartment living. “Practicing an instrument and the inevitable accompanying noise was impossible,” he recalls. Yet, necessity became the mother of invention, or in this case, clandestine creativity. The family garage, housing a blue Morris Marina, became his unlikely sanctuary. Inside, enveloped in darkness, the aspiring musician wrestled free-form lines from a tenor saxophone. “In my head I was Evan Parker mixed with late Coltrane,” he muses, acknowledging the gap between aspiration and audibility to his neighbors. This period, from sixteen to twenty-five, marked his sporadic saxophone engagement, driven by “contextual sound creation” rather than technical mastery, a principle that would echo throughout his career.
Kendall’s formative musical landscape was less about melody and harmony, and more about the evocative power of sound itself. He cites Joe Meek’s signature reverb and the otherworldly introduction of “Telstar” by The Tornados as early fascinations. These weren’t just songs; they were sonic textures that captivated his imagination.
Then came Doctor Who. Broadcast in 1963, the Doctor Who main theme, composed by Ron Grainer and realized by Delia Derbyshire at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, was a revelation. To Kendall’s young ears, accustomed to conventional sounds, it was “music from the spheres during the Space Age.” This wasn’t orchestral, nor pop; it was something entirely new, electronic and alien, perfectly encapsulating the futuristic and adventurous spirit of the show. The theme’s pioneering use of electronic manipulation, crafted with tape loops and rudimentary electronic equipment, resonated deeply. It expanded his understanding of what music could be, paving the way for his appreciation of the Kinks’ overdrive guitar, the psychedelia of Small Faces, and the “sensually visceral and stereophonically seductive” sounds of Jimi Hendrix. The Doctor Who theme wasn’t just background music; it was a pivotal moment in his sonic awakening.
A promotional image for Paul Kendall’s SoundCloud profile, showcasing his online presence as a musician and producer.
His connection to sound was further shaped by his parents’ professions in telecommunications. His father, a telephone engineer, and his mother, a telephonist, inadvertently set the stage for his stereo journey. Telephone surplus headphones became his gateway to binaural audio, launching him into the world of stereo sound reproduction, even if his initial technical understanding was limited. This “technical ignorance” led him to a four-track reel-to-reel tape machine that lacked stereo capabilities, delaying true tape experimentation until his university years.
The Music Department at the University of York provided the fertile ground for sonic exploration he craved. Access to a VCS3 Synthesiser and Revox 2 track recorder allowed him to delve into stereophonic space and the tangible manipulation of electronic sound. Brief ownership of a Hohner Clavinet further fueled his experiments, capable of mimicking a “wailing feedback drenched guitar” when paired with an HH Combo Amp and sustain switch. These experiments, though perhaps less appreciated by his neighbors, were crucial steps in his sonic education.
The advent of analogue multitrack in 1984 marked another significant leap, continuing until the early 90s when the digital realm beckoned. His first Mac computer and Digidesign’s Sound Tools software (later Pro Tools) inaugurated an era of digital editing and processing. Kendall recognizes this as “probably the most significant advance in audio technology since the commercially available tape recorder.” Prior to this, an Atari 1040 running Creator Midi Sequencer (Logic’s precursor) was his tool of choice.
From 1985 to 1997, Kendall played a pivotal role at Mute Records’ in-house studio. As an engineer, producer, and mixer, he collaborated with a diverse array of artists, both within and beyond the Mute roster, including Depeche Mode and Nitzer Ebb. His forward-thinking approach led to the creation of Parallel Series, a label within Mute dedicated to exploring new technologies, primarily Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs). This venture highlighted a convergence: “classical electronic music (musique concrète and the academic line of composition) and popular music were using the same technology of creation/composition, Pro-Tools.”
An embedded link to MuteSong’s SoundCloud collection, representing Paul Kendall’s long association with Mute Records and his contributions to electronic music.
Post-Mute, Kendall embraced working “in the box,” focusing on computer-based recording and mixing. This methodology defined his compositional approach until the recent discovery of the iPad as a powerful sound generation and processing tool. During the 2020 lockdown, a period of creative stagnation spurred an exploration of iPad apps like Borderlands and Tardigrain. He was impressed by their capacity to generate “an immediate new palette of sound” coupled with tactile performance possibilities. These affordable and flexible apps rekindled his enthusiasm, reminiscent of his earlier embrace of outboard effects, which he considered his instruments, albeit often prohibitively expensive.
This renewed zeal led to “Boundary Macro” (2021), his first vinyl album, born from eight improvisations recorded over three days using voice and a Leaf Audio Microphonic Soundbox as sound sources, subsequently refined over six months of editing and composition. New software and plug-ins, particularly Native Instruments’ Reaktor and Ableton Live, have consistently fueled his creative process. He still laments the discontinuation of Native Instruments’ Spektral Delay, a testament to his enduring fascination with sound manipulation tools.
Ableton Live, arriving in 2001, stands out as a “game changer.” Kendall recalls the revelation of real-time percussive loop synchronization, a stark contrast to the laborious manual slicing and sequencing that preceded it. This democratization of music production, enabling anyone with a laptop to “cut up and start to DJ,” underscores the profound impact of technological advancements on music creation, a journey Paul Kendall began, in a way, with the otherworldly sounds of the Doctor Who main theme. The theme, a sonic seed planted in his youth, blossomed into a lifelong dedication to exploring the boundless possibilities of sound.
In conclusion, Paul Kendall’s career is a testament to the power of early sonic encounters. While his path was shaped by technological evolution and persistent curiosity, it was the groundbreaking Doctor Who main theme that first opened his ears to the limitless potential of electronic sound, setting the stage for a career dedicated to sonic innovation and exploration.
